- Industry remains strong despite global uncertainty
- More than 2.3 million foreigners arrived by air alone
In the first three months of this year, the Dominican Republic welcomed 3,348,716 visitors by air and sea, which represents a significant 3.82% growth compared to the first quarter of 2024 (when 3,225,484 non-resident foreigners arrived) and 16.17% more than in 2023 (when 2,882,484 arrivals were registered).
The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, explained that foreigners who traveled to the country between January and March constituted “a historic increase” of more than one million visitors compared to 2019, an increase of 48.09%.
“Despite the uncertainty in the global outlook which has affected the international tourist flow, our tourism remains strong, recording a notable increase in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years,” Collado said.
Air Arrivals
The country received 2,320,725 tourists between January and March of this year by air alone, with 18,473 commercial flights that had an overall occupancy of 76%.
Although the arrival of passengers by air implies a slight decrease of 0.59% in relation to the 2,334,562 non-resident foreigners who arrived in the country in 2024, it represents an increase of 11.77% compared to the 2,076,159 passengers in the first quarter of 2023, in addition to an increase of 23.69% compared to the 1,876,144 passengers who stayed overnight in the country in 2019.
- The Ministry of Tourism explained how this year’s year-on-year results were influenced by seasonal factors such as the leap year (February 2025 had one day less than in 2024) and the Easter calendar (which in 2024 was celebrated in March, unlike the current Easter Week).
Cruise tourism
The institution highlighted that the greatest activity of visitors in the first quarter of the year came from cruise tourism.
The country’s tourist ports received 1,027,991 cruise passengers, 137,069 more day-trippers than the 890,922 who disembarked last year, an increase of 15.38%, also surpassing the 806,257 cruise passengers who arrived in 2023, an increase of 27.45%.
Six years ago, tourist ports received 384,989 visitors, so the number of visitors registered in the first quarter of 2025 exceeds the arrival of passengers by sea in 2019 by 167.01%.
Hotel occupancy
During this period, the hotel industry recorded an average occupancy of 81%, with the Punta Cana-Bavaro area leading the way (with 89% occupancy) and La Romana (with 85% occupied of all its available rooms).
More support for the sector from banks
Meanwhile, the tourism industry continues to receive constant support from the financial sector to construct new hotel projects in strategic points such as Punta Bergantín, Puerto Plata, and Cabo Rojo, Pedernales.
According to the Association of Multiple Banks of the Dominican Republic (ABA) the loan portfolio of multiple banks to the tourism sector reached 113,784 million pesos at the end of 2024, an increase of 3.4% compared to 2023.
In the first two months of the year, loans expanded by 114,470 million pesos, after an increase of 786 million pesos, adding a significant rebound compared to last year, when there was a decrease of 3.87%.
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